Lease to Live
by R. Tom Mato
Summary: (NaNoWriMo)The life of the Cat before Kyou. Spell-checked now, cuz I'm a dunce.
1. Prologue

Prologue

There was never any mercy for the Cat of the zodiac. Any of them. They were always locked away as soon as possible and left there to rot. No one wanted to kill one, and they passed off this unconscious show of sympathy by saying that it wouldn't do because the Cat would just keep possessing every time, and wouldn't it be easier for the poor Sohma women to not have to worry so much?

_"Push harder, Mrs. Sohma!"_

It was sad. Perhaps if those outside the curse's limits knew about the potential of their unborn child to be a zodiac, they would accept it easier. The shock of having your child turn into a strange creature might not be lessened, but at least they would _know_.

_"I can see the head! Just a little bit more!"_

How terrible for a newborn child to finally come into this world, and then be rejected by the center of his universe.

_"Congratulations, it's a boy."_

But for cats, it's worse. They don't turn into a fluffy kitten until after the bracelet is put on.

_"Oh god...what is it!?"_

What does the child feel when it first transforms? To suddenly change shape and then be thrown across the room by his mother, the only thing saving it being the fast reflexes of someone in the room-if they're lucky.

_"Get it away from me! Get it away!"_

Does the mother feel no love at all for her child? A bond formed by nine months of responsibility is so easily mangled and torn apart in less than a minute?

_"I don't ever want to see that..._thing _again!"_

Don't you love me anymore, Mother?


	2. Part One

Part One

"Just a little bit more!" the doctor encouraged the woman lying on the hospital bed screaming in pain. Of course, part of him did not want this child to come out. He was one of the many Sohma family doctors, trained specifically for these situations.

Premature births.

Every time a seven-month pregnant woman was called in, his heart stopped. Not that every such incident was one of those, but often, ninety-nine percent of the time at least, it was. He had delivered the Dragon as well those forty-two years ago, his first Zodiac child, and many more after that. But never...never had he delivered a Cat.

Nervously, he held his hands just under the baby's head as it was pushed out. In spite of all his years, he still believed that an animal was going to come out of this woman and not a child. He knew that, for some reason, they were always born human until they were first held.

Behind him, the very Dragon he had delivered now stood, calm and unaffected by this event. The baby came out a little more and he had no choice but to touch it. Holding it as lightly as he could, the baby came out with a final yell from the mother.

"Congratulations," he announced, trying to sound cheerful so the parents of the crea-baby wouldn't worry. They rarely knew beforehand, and he had been warned that these two certainly didn't. "It's a boy."

The father laughed and leaned down to kiss his wife's cheek. Her own face was streaked with tears but she, too, smiled. A pain ripped through the doctor's heart and he wished that there was something he could do. It wouldn't have been hard to sabotage the birth, but the Dragon was watching. Such betrayal to his duty and the family would not go unpunished.

The nurse came over and took the baby into his arms, cleaning him with a warm towel. As soon as the damp cloth touched him, the baby began to wail. Both parents looked up, startled. It was the first noise the child had made since leaving the womb, even during such a violent birth.

Before anyone else could react, the nurse took the child and wrapped it in a blanket until it..he...it was almost completely covered. He paused a moment, then took the bundle over to the mother's open arms. The doctor noticed the Dragon tense behind him, but he didn't move from his spot at the wall.

As soon as the child was placed in its mother's arms, its wails increased in volume. The blanket shifted as it screeched and both sets of eyes that had looked on it so lovingly just a moment ago turned into a wide-eyed, terrified stare.

"Oh god..." the mother hissed, horrified. "What is it!?"

That was when the Dragon made his move. He strode toward the couple quickly, just as the woman threw the bundle from her. He caught it easily, and the doctor caught sight of leather-brown skin and a small, clawed hand. Not a moment later, a rotten smell filled the room, causing the nurse to run to the corner of the room and vomit violently.

"Get it away from me!" the woman screamed, her horror melting into hysteria as she cried. "Get it away!"

"Uncle..." the man murmured, almost drowned out by his wife's yells. "What...what is that..?"

The Dragon's dark eyes regarded him coolly. "It is our curse."

"But our son.."

"This is your son." he replied.

"No!" the wife screeched. "It is not! It's a monster! It took my baby! I don't ever want to see that..._thing_ again!"

"Very well." the Dragon replied, tucking the loose blanket around the Cat once more. Without another word he left the hospital room and the doctor was left to sedate the hysterical woman and explain to the husband the curse of the Sohma family.

At least I will not live to deliver another. the doctor thought, closing his eyes.

---

"Is that it?"

The Dragon didn't even look up at the young man leaning against the wall. "You're not supposed to be here." was all he replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a red and white beaded bracelet.

The young man's eyes widened. "It is!" he exclaimed. "You're going to let that thing live?!"

"Lower your voice," the Dragon hissed as he slipped the bracelet onto the newborn's tiny wrist. "Why all horses have to have such grating voices, and then use them so often-"

"It killed her!" the Horse cried, ignoring the older man's words.

"No, he did not. This child is not connected to either of them, aside from the fact that he is also cursed."

The Horse shook his head, gritting his teeth to stop the tears that were in his eyes. "It's not fair."

"Of course it isn't," he sighed, lifting his gaze to the Horse's. "But it happened, and you must move on. The Rat was not yours, and she never could be."

A heavy silence fell between them, and finally the Horse pointed to the child. "What are we going to do with it?"

The Dragon held the child closer to his body. "I will take care of him," he announced. "It's my duty, as I'm his closest relative. I'll have to erase his mother's memories though, and his father's. From the reaction of the nurse, it may be best if I took his, too."

"How troublesome." he muttered.

Dark eyes locked on the deep brown of the Horse. "In case you've forgotten, I had to do the same to your mother."

A bitter expression settled over the Horse's face. "How couldn't I remember? You never gave me such peace of mind." he spat and walked away, disappearing down the hallway.

The squirming baby in his arms caught the Dragon's attention. Where the Cat spirit's horrifying form had once been was now a small, pink-skinned baby boy. The light orange fuzz atop the child's head stood out easily.

"I will try my best to take care of you," the Dragon murmured. "That you may not end up as your previous incarnation did."


	3. Part Two

Part Two

The sun rose over the Sohma Estate, casting beams of warm light over the last patches of melting snow. Winter was nearly over and spring was awakening. Already, flowers were starting to bloom and birds were making their way back to the trees.

Soon, the paths through the estate were filled with people. Adults were on their way to work and groups of children were being walked to school. One child ran ahead of his companions and packed together a small pile of snow with his mittens. He laughed as he threw it at the hat of another young boy, who gasped before retaliating with a snowball of his own.

It took the adults accompanying then nearly five minutes to stop the snowball war. When they did, they gave a quick reprimand to the children then hurried the group down the path and out of sight.

Watching all this from his bedroom window was a young child. He was small and thin, even for a five year old. The hair on his head was orange and cropped very close, as though to have as little as necessary without simply shaving him bald. His eyes, wide and red, stared at the outside world curiously. He had never been allowed outside the house before, not even when the first snow of winter had fallen and all the other had gone out to play. It was too dangerous, he'd been told.

A soft knock came from the other side of his door and the little boy reluctantly looked over his shoulder. "Breakfast is ready, come downstairs." an equally soft voice drifted through the wood.

The boy waited for the sound of footsteps going down the stairs before moving away from the window and jumping off of his bed. He skipped lightly to the door, his socked feet hardly making any noise, and then hopped out into the bare hallway.

Their house was simple since it was just the two of them. His uncle was not one for unnecessary clutter, so there were hardly even any pictures on the walls. For as long as the boy could remember, his uncle had always taken care of him. He was a middle-aged man with graying hair and dark eyes that he'd once been told were as blank as slates. He didn't know what slates were, but he did know that his uncle's eyes weren't blank. They swam with emotions the boy couldn't even name, but he could always name the sadness in them.

For the entire winter, a cough had troubled the old man, but now with the warm weather the boy hoped he would get better. Perhaps if he behaved very well, and his uncle's health recovered, they could go outside, just for a little bit.

When he reached the table, his uncle was already eating and reading the morning paper. The only thing in front of him was a cup of tea, and next to them on a napkin were three small green pills shaped like eggs.

"Good morning," his uncle murmured in his weak voice. "Eat quickly, I have an appointment soon."

The boy nodded and started on his breakfast. Whenever his uncle had to go to the doctor, his aunt would always come and watch him. He knew she wasn't really his aunt, but that was always what he'd been told to call her. The boy knew better than to ask to accompany his uncle. He had once, then had a fit when he'd been told no. His aunt had made him sit in a corner the entire time his uncle was gone, and once he'd come home he had ignored the boy for almost half an hour until he was in tears and apologized for being a rude boy. It was an experience he did not wish to repeat.

"Finished?" his uncle asked after a moment without looking up from his paper. The boy nodded, shoving the last bite in his mouth. "Go make your bed. I know you forgot."

The boy just smiled before leaving the table and running up the stairs. His uncle watched him go silently, then proceeded to clear the dishes. He grabbed his pills before he forgot and washed them down with the last of his tea. The warm liquid soothed his aching throat, but it also triggered a coughing fit that lasted a full minute. The old man put his hand to his mouth and wiped away a tiny drop of blood from his lip.

"Uncle?"

His head snapped up, startled by the boy's presence. "Yes?" he asked, wheezing slightly.

The red eyes locked on his, full of worry. "Will you be all right?"

"Of course," he replied quickly. "It's only a winter cough, spring will heal me."

The boy smiled again and nodded once. Before either could say anything more there was a knock at the front door. Both of them looked up, but only the older moved. It had been taught that the boy was never to answer the door, so the man forced his labored breathing to even out as he walked to the front hallway.

His eyes narrowed upon seeing the person on the other side. The young man standing there smiled widely, but his eyes were also narrowed. "Good morning." he greeted with mock politeness.

"What are you doing here?" the old man demanded in his worn voice.

The younger chuckled. "I'm here to watch the kitty, of course."

"I'm sorry, but someone is already coming to take care of-"

"Nu-uh," he interrupted. "Bunny's sick, so she can't come. I'm the next oldest, so responsibility fell on me."

"I wouldn't want to trouble you," the man said softly. "I can just take him with me, so you wouldn't be bothered."

"Oh no, old man, I don't mind at all," he grinned. "After all, it's not allowed outside and we wouldn't want you to get in trouble over it."

The grey-haired man glared and stepped outside onto the porch, leaning down so he was eye to eye with the troublesome youth. "Listen, boy, you may have grown, but still all that comes out of that horse's mouth is nonsense. You will not refer to him as an 'it' while you're here. He is a boy under my roof and it will stay that way."

A glint of nervousness appeared in the Horse's gaze, but he didn't flinch away. "Of course, Dragon. Your house, your rules, I suppose."

"Good," he grunted, backing into the hallway. "He's already eaten, so you can just stay in the living room. Have him play upstairs while I'm gone."

The young man stepped in after him and toed off his shoes. "Not a problem."

The old man huffed softly and turned to go back to the kitchen. The boy was still standing there and didn't seem to have heard anything. "Your aunt wont be watching you today, she's sick as well." he explained.

The boy looked at him curiously. "Then who will?"

He felt the Horse's presence before he entered the room. "I will," the young man said, that insufferable grin on his face. "I'm your cousin."

Red eyes lit up with excitement. The only people he really knew were his uncle, his aunt, and the doctor that would come from time to time to check his health. No one else had ever come to visit. "Really?" he exclaimed, bouncing a bit. "I never knew I had a cousin!"

The old man stood there tensely, eyes shifting from one to the other. This wasn't good. He knew that the Horse was up to something. But there was nothing he could do. Taking the boy with him would only cause trouble, and not going was out of the question. He had to figure out what was wrong so he could get better. If he died...the boy would be helpless against the others.

"I'll be back in a few hours," he stated finally, then met the Horse's gaze. "Be good."

"Yes, uncle." the boy replied, smiling widely.

"Yes, uncle." the Horse echoed with a smirk.

For a moment, he nearly stayed. To hell with his cough and the doctor and all the Sohma's that made the rule that the boy was not to set foot outside the house. But he didn't. Because if he did, and something were to happen to him, the boy would be in trouble. Locked away just like the Cat before him because no one wanted to take the responsibility.

He turned and walked out of the kitchen without another word. He slipped on his coat and shoes, pulled on his mittens, and wrapped his scarf around his neck. As long as he hurried there and back, things should be all right.


End file.
